Two-Week-Old Baby Dies after Being Mauled by Family Dog

A 13-day-old boy in Texas died after being mauled by the family's pit bull Saturday night, authorities said.

The baby was airlifted to Houston's Memorial Hermann Hospital and died early Sunday morning, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The mother, who has not been identified, was watching her newborn from a window when the family dog pushed through the French doors into the room where the little one was alone. The dog first sniffed the baby, who was resting in an infant carrier, and then mauled him.

Family members quickly responded by pulling the dog off the baby and placing it in a kennel, but it was too late.

The family had just moved into the northwest Harris County home outside Houston, said neighbor Kevin Patcha.

It's terrible and unexpected, he told the Houston Chronicle. I can't think of anything that would have led to this incident.

The dog, which the family says had never been aggressive before, has been quarantined for the next 10 days by animal control and it is up to authorities to decide what to do with the animal.

Certified dog behavior consultant Jennifer Shryock spoke with the Houston Chronicle and said that dogs and newborns should never be left alone together.

When an unfamiliar smelling, wiggling squealing tiny being is left alone, they may go to investigate, she said. The baby was unfamiliar and the dog investigates as a dog does.

This is second fatal dog mauling of a U.S. infant within the last month. Previously, a nine-month-old died after being attacked by a dog in North Carolina.

According to Dogbite.org, there were 33 fatal dog attacks in 2010, and five of the victims were 4 years old or younger.

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